Egypt Orders Mass Arrests Of Muslim Brotherhood Members

REUTERS/Amr Abdallah DalshArmy soldiers stand guard in front of protesters who are against Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, near the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo July 3, 2013. A meeting between the head of the Egyptian armed forces, liberal opposition leaders and senior Muslim and Christian clerics, has ended and a statement will be issued within the hour, the armed forces said in a statement on Facebook on Wednesday.

Egyptian police have issued arrest orders against 300 leaders and members of former President Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, AFP reports.

MENA, the state news agency, reported police were arresting Morsi allies "who are accused of inciting violence and disturbing general security and peace".

Two prominent members close to Morsi have already been detained, including the head of the Freedom and Justice Party — the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, and the deputy head of the Islamist movement, according to Ahram Online.

In the wake of the president's ouster, forces deployed across the country to seize control from pro-Morsi loyalists, and the military surrounded the Republican Guard barracks where Morsi was staying with barbed wire and troops.

Gehad El-Haddad, media spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, posted to his twitter account that Morsi had been placed under house arrest, along with most members of his presidential team.

In a statement released by the White House, President Obama said he was "monitoring the very fluid situation in Egypt" and called on the military to "move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government."